Queen's Day

Well... Today I spent the day in Sodom - I mean Amsterdam for Queen's Day (a huge city wide party to celebrate the Queen's birthday). Lets just say it was interesting :) I saw some things I haven't seen in a long time and some things I've never seen before (and probably won't again). Amsterdam is an pretty cool city, but I do think I'd like to see it on a day when it is not totally filled with masses of partying people.

I'd write more, but I am pretty tired... oh yeah and I'll have some pictures later.

Six Years

Six years ago today my friend (and former youth pastor) Tony had a life changing mountain biking accident. I say life changing because from that day forward the lives of so many people changed in so many ways. It's hard to even believe that it has been 6 years, I've actually had to count it out in my mind a few times just to make sure that 6 years is right. I'll never forget that day and those that followed it, it's all still so vivid in my mind.

I wish I knew how to say the things that are on my mind ~ it's not very often that I am speechless...

Days go by

Today we finished our study through the Sermon on the Mount... our next two classes will be dedicated to the final. It kind of blows my mind that the semester is nearly over, the days have gone by very quickly.

This weekend I am going with one of my students to Amsterdam. He (Jacco) tells me that I cannot miss 'Queens Day.' I'm quite sure I could gladly miss it after he has now told me all about it, but nevertheless I'm sure it will be a fun weekend.

I read this a few hours ago...

"The frowns of the world would not disquiet us if we did not so eagerly covet its smiles. What folly to seek great things for ourselves here, where everything is little, and nothing certain!" -JFB

I think that fortune cookies should have quotes like that, instead of the most recent one I got, "Your laugh and enthusiasm please those around you..." I mean while I'm sure that's true :) the above quote seems to evoke a bit more contemplation.

Be that as it may, it bums me out from time to time how so many people my age are so very set upon the temporal things of this life and not truly living for the next. We so quickly justify our pursuit of earthly and vain glory all the while setting aside that which is most important.

...my last German fortune cookie :)

"Sie helfen großyügig aus Super!"

Conundrum

Like "interesting" this has come to be a favorite word of mine... I have had people tell me that they've heard the word but don't know what it means ~ it's a riddle, especially one with an answer in the form of a play on words.

I have had a bit of a riddle or maybe better said a quandary of recent. It's like a tennis match in my brain, the ball of this riddle is lobbed from one lobe to the next... an answer will surely come.

To understand a proverb and an enigma,
the words of the wise and their riddles. - Proverbs 1:6

~ | ~

Brethren, the time is short...

My time here in Germany grows ever shorter by the minute. I am excited at the prospect of yet another season of life and yet torn at the same time. I feel in some ways that I now have two lives, two distinctly different lives, which never mix. I have a life with so very much involved in it here in Germany and yet another in America, but the two do not even touch. In less than two months I'll leave one for the other, not knowing when if ever I'll enjoy it again... Back to a new conundrum :)

"I will never _______..."

As I ran today I was thinking about the many times that I have said, "I will never do _______" or "I will never go _______" and then sometime later I find myself doing exactly the thing I said I'd never do.

I remember onetime telling someone, "I'll never go on the mission field for more than a short few week trip." Well here I am in Germany now going on into my 8th month. I told my friend Eric, "I'll never run in any big races, like a marathon or 1/2." I ran my first 1/2 marathon last August and I just got the registration for the next one in my email yesterday. Here's one I was quite sure of. I was running with a friend one day and he was wearing running tights (the weather was pretty cold). I told him, "I'll never wear those." Sure enough, as I was running today I had tights on (I had shorts over them, but still).

I use to caution my friend Eric all the time when he would tell me, "I'll never..." Because it always seemed thats the very thing the Lord would be doing with him next. Well, I guess the same applies to me :)

He is good to all...

I got a call just a few minutes ago from my mom back in the States. She had a whole bunch of mail for me relating to an accident I had back in December when I was back home.

I sure would like all the things related to this accident to be over, but it all seems to be a continuing issue. As soon as I got off the phone with a list of other phone calls I have to make, I opened my favorite Devotional which is just a compilation of scriptures from Samuel Bagster called Daily Light. My maker was on April 24th instead of today so I decided to read last nights reading, since I didn't do it last night :( The word of the Lord sure is helpful!

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. - The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. - Behold, as the eyes of the servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God." - Matthew 5:26; Romans 10:12; Psalm 123:2

Praise God that He is in control and on the throne ~ sometimes I am tempted to forget that.

Shall He not make it good?

"God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall he not make it good?" - Numbers 23:19

It's good to be reminded of such passages sometimes. This morning as I read this verse the Lord is again so quietly and simply speaking to my heart...

~ miles, "There has failed not ought of any good thing which I have spoken unto you... all has come to pass."

And so very true it is. Even during the times when I am feeling or thinking that "all has come to loss." God is still on the throne, still in control and still desiring to do great things. Just this last week again the Lord spoke this to my heart as He showed me a little glimpse of things to come. Truly there is so much that God still wants to do.

Rain...

Today was a beautiful day ~ it's almost 9pm and someone came to my door a few minutes ago, to my surprise it's pouring outside. So I just looked at the 10 day forecast on www.weather.com for Siegen... Rain! Rain! Rain! Showers! Rain!


I don't want to complain, but I must admit I'm tired of rain. There was a time when I so very much looked forward to rainy days. I mean we don't get too much (except this year) in SoCal, but here in Germany in the Siegerland... Lets just say I've had my fill :)

Praise the Lord we have had sunshine lately, but the forecast for the next few (10) days shows showers. What are ya gonna do?

No pen...

I just got back from church a few minutes ago. It was the first monring service that I've gone to in a while (mostly I've been going to the evening services). Honestly it may be a bit difficult to adapt back into the SoCal routein when I head back in a couple of months.

We've been going through 1 Samuel the whole time I've been here in Germany; I don't know if Pastor Nick will finish before the Lord returns, but it's been a pretty rad study nonetheless. About half way through the message the Lord spoke something to my heart ~ I grabbed my journal and reached for my pen... no pen... So here I am an hour later and I cannot remember any of what it was that I wanted to write down.

It is such a bummer to me how that happens, I'll know that the Lord is speaking something very specific to my heart and I won't have any way at the moment to take it down. I'm sure it will be something that He'll have to show me again later.

Anyway, the Floh Markt is here at Walmart in Siegen today... I think I'll check it out ~ they always seem to be pretty fun. However, it was a bit of a joke back in February (Right before Vallentines Day) that the Walmart here in Siegen (I never went to Walmart in America, but here in Germany it's wonderful) had a Singles shopping night. Then just a few weeks ago my friend Shannon sent me this ~ "Looking for a Cheap Date? Try Walmart" ~ Pretty funny.

Much to say at the start

Always with this thing I find that the first day I set it up I have much to say... the problem is that three or four days later I don't use it really at all. Be that as it may I thought I'd post a picture up to see what it looks like :)

I'm considering entering this into a couple of contests that I've seen recently ~ if I can get my upload connection to work.


click to enlarge

I took that of my nephew Micah just about a year ago I think... It was one of those shots that just seemed to come out, even though I wasn't really trying to do anything.

Later,
Miles

New Look

Hi everyone...

It's getting somewhat late here, but today I had this bright idea ~ "How about you redesign your site and actually use the blog that you threw up there months ago?"

So here goes.

By the way, I am working on a newsletter --> I'm a bit behind but I think I should have it done by the end of the week :)

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